Brick-machine



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

C. CHAMBERS. Jr.

BRICK MACHINE Patented Oct. 6, 1863.

.YANN

Ir k. Ilmmum 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

C. CHAMBERS. Jr. BRIGK MACHINE.

No. 40,221. Patented Oct. 6, -1.863.

a-nd forming dies. .stationary plate.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

evans CHAMBERS, JR., or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

.BRICK-MACHINE Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 10,22l,dated October 6, 1863.

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CvRUs CHAMBERS, Jr., of the city of Philadelphia, inthe State ot' Pennsylvania have invented a new and ImprovedBriclLZMachine; and I do hereby declare the iolowingr to be a full andcorrect description of the same, reference being had to the aceompaningdrawings, in which- Figure l is a vertical central longitudinal sectionof the machine. oFig. 2 is a top view of the same; Figs.`3, 4, and 5,detailed view of the dies. Fig-6 is a side elevation, on an en-` largedscale, of the kniieguide. Fig. 7 is an end view of the ily-wheel, knife,and knife guide. Fig. Sis a side view of the knife with its holder andspring, the knife being shown in two positions. Fig. 9 is a sideviewofthe conical screw, showing its extra thread. Fig. 10 is a v iew of theinclined plane or guide. Fig. 1l is a central longitudinal section ofthe screw., its shell or case, and the compressing Fig. 12 is a top viewofthe Fig. 13, Sheet 2, is a perspective view of the machine completeand in operation. l

The same part is indicated by the same letter of reference wherever itoccurs.-

The nature of my invention consists in cer- Atain improvements,vhereinafter particularly described and shown,in that class ofbrickmachines in which the clay is forced through a die in a continuousstream, and afterward cut. into' the proper lengths to form bricks.Machines of this general character arein common use in England andFrance, and are more especially used in the production of hollow orperforated bricks. The bricks made by these Vmachines in Europe are notremarkable for density or tine finish, the corners and edges being` aptto present a ragged appearance. Moreover, the mode of cutting the bar ofclay .into bricks by a knife or wire passing rigidly in a plane at rightangles to thecourse of the clay, but not moving with it or affected byits motion, had the ei'e'ct to interfere with the shape of the brick andprevent its being exactly rectangular. In these machines the means usedto propel the clay are. the plunger or reciprocating piston, or thedouble or single spiral flange or screw working in a chamber of equaldiameter throughout. In most, if

not all, of them the clay used has been already carefully pugged inanother machine, usually an ordinary pug-mill, and all foreignsubstances carefully removed to avoid danger to the dies, and to secureas much as possible that exclusion of air and uniformity of texturewhich are essential to 'the perfection of brickmaking by this mode; buteven with this precautiomwhich adds the expense of a double handling tothe manufacturer, the 4bricks are not solid or smooth on the c orner' orangles.

The object of my invention is to remedy as f ar as possible the defectsof this mode of mans ut'acture, while securin g the great and obviousadvantages of rapidity andconsequent cheap-l ness. Ihe first step inthis direction is the connection of the pugging mill or chamber with themachine in such a way that the pug- A.ging orcomminution of the clay isperformed in the same chamber from which the clay passes Without changeof direction to the dies and by the operation of the same machinery. Thenext step was so to modify the shape of the pugging-chamber that theclay in its passage toward the dies is very gradually compressed andfreed from air, thus beingirendered by the same process more dense andmore plastic. My next step consisted in so constructing the propellingspiral flange or screw as to preserve the homogeneity of the structureof the clay or arrangement of the particles by preventing its arrangingitself in those concentric or other layers which impart to it 'astriated appearance when burned and give it a tendency to break in thelines of the lamin, Whatever they may be, instead of having anevenfracture in any desired direction under the operation ot' thetrowel.

To prevent 'the machine from being overstrained, should a stone or otherobstruction get into the die or threads of the screw, and thus preventthe passage of the clay,or should the pugging-knives feed the clay tothescrew faster than itv will receive it, I have attached a Sat'etySValve,V3, at the end of the temperling-case, so weighted as to prevent theclay from exuding during the ordinary operation of the machine, butcapable of being raised by the force of the clay when the pressure fromany cause becomes greater than is desired. There is also a hand or manhole, V, in the screw-case for the purpose of taking out the stones thatmay-lodge in the threads of the screw. The die is hinged, so as to bereadily opened to remove any foreign substance that may lodge in it.

My next iinln'ovenwnt had for its object.- to secure. by anewairangenient ofthe matter, smooth and unbroken edges and corners to thebricks. lieiiection will show that the ordina-r) operation of aplungeror other pro peiling device in amachine with an ordinary die is toproduce the greatest amount of velocity in the center of the mass,giving the outer edges and surfaces less, and hence more liable to berendered ragged and broken by partial adhesion to the die while passingthrough. it. The remedy for this is to he sought ina reversal oftheordinary disposition of thematerial, forcing the greatest amount of clayinto the edges and corners of the brick and compressing itthere, so thatthe last action of the die upon it will be. to give it smoothnessinstead ot tearing it and rendering it rough and ragged. The. peculiarform ot' my die completely effects this object.

The continuous moving bar of clay, as it passes from the die shouldpresent a smooth dense rectangular parallelopiped, with sharpwell-deiined angles or corners. lt has then only to be cnt into properlengths to form perfectly-shaped bricks To cut this bar while moving atright angles to its length, so that the end superlicies of the bricksshallbe planes exactly at right angles to4 the planes ofthe sides, is apractical problem oi' some nicety. The mode ot solving it which I havedevised is to l'etthe cutter move laterally exactly at the same rate asthe clay, which is accomplished by an adjustable inclined plane securedin' such a position as to move the knite and its guide forward,'with thebar duc ing the severance ofthe clay. The division of the bar of clayinto bricks exactly even lengths is effected by making the bar itselfcontrol the knife which divides it. 'Ihe bricks nthus served would beinconvenient to handle it they were not separated from each other by agreater' interval than the width of the serving-knife. To secure thisseparation, I gear y the olf-bearing apron which receives the bricks soas t'o move faster than the apron which supports the' uncut bar.

The foregoing observations will fully eX plain the principles'vby whichI have been guided in the construction of myimproved ma chine, and willbest illustrate the nature of the invention and in what manner it isLoubeings,in which the appearance ofthe completep machine in fulloperation is clearly shown by the perspective view presented on Sheet 2,W'herethe crude clay is represented in the act of bii'l'g fed to themachineand the completed ybrick delivered to the off-bearers. i Themachine is set in and lsupported by brick-work in the inannerclearlyshown in this figure.

In the drawings, A marks a stout frameof iron tied by braces B.

G is a short shaft, towhich are attached the last and loose pulleys Dand E, to which the band from any suitable prime mover is applied. Onthe end of shaft-C is. cogged pinion'F, gearing into cog wheel G on longshaft H. A pinion, l, on the end of shaft H en-l gages with and drives'main cog-wheel J on the main shaft K. Into thisshat't are spirallyinserted the tempering-blades o c, &c., Aand to its inner end isattached the conical screw L.

lVl marks the tempering or plugging cham-l ber, which is cylindrical informat the feed end and conical at the delivery end, as shown.

` lt basan opening, Q, in the top for the introduction of the clay.Attached by bolts to the conical end of chamber M is conical screwcaseN, in which the screw L works. The internal surface of this case isroughened or checkeretbas shown in Fig. 1,i`o1 thtl purpose ot'preventing the clay ffrom revolving in the case as the screw or flangerevolves. -The `screw L, Fig. 9, isconstructed so that the end at whichthe clay enters it is large in dameter, to receive-the clay from thesmall end of". the tempering-case, and gradually tapers toward thepoint, so as to deliver the-clay at the center or on aA line with thecenter of the shaft. Thev shaft.` or body of the screw L is reduced to apoint at the.outer'end,and gradually increases in size, so that the areaofthe space between it and the large end of the screw-case `is equal tothe area of the small v end of the case.' Thereforethe screw is capableof delivering at the point, and on a line with its center all the clayit receives at the base. l'

1n order to insure the threads filling with in Fig. 4 and lettered L.The compressing-` f diev0`is hinged to the smaller end ofcase N itsvcross-section at its outer end vis rectangular, as shown in Fig, 4.,;its innerend is round,

as shown in Fig. 3, and a cross-section of its centeris represented by,-Fig. 5. The corners are here seen rounded out or grooved,'and thesegrooves gradually taper till they disappear at the angles lof the outerrectangular opening. of the die. The object 'of these grooves is tocrowd a greater quantity of clay into the corners of the bar, so as togive them greater so'lidity and firmness, in accordance with the viewshereinbefore stated. To this die O is attacheda plain rectangular die,P.

The dies are lined withsteel to diminish wear, and thuspreventirregularity in thesizc of the bricks. The outer end of the mainshaft K works in a head-block, R, which isadjusted by bolts b and nutsn, and receives' the backward thrust of the shaft. On long shaftH isplaced hollow shaft Z, on one end of which is bevel-pinion S, meshinginto bevel-wheel T on cross-shaft U. On the other end of this shaft U ispulley V, which, with pulley W, carriesendless apron a. This apron,which :sustains the weight of the bar of clay, H', is fsnpportedthroughout. its entire length bythe sinall rollers r 1, Ste. .It istightened when re'- quiredby pulley X, Fig. 1, which is applied tovfits'\`s,`urface with any required degree of force by means of thelever l, operated by the foot and.l held in any desired position by thepins p.' The apron a receives the bar of clay El' as it cornes-from thedie P. To theouter end' of hollow shaft Z is attached ily wheel Y,whichruns on thc shaft H loose, and carries the spring knife-stock `KG,('see Figs. 2 and 8,) to. the end of which the knife k is attached by ahinge, h, Fig. 8. The shaft H is'so geared .that it makes more than onerevolution while wheel Y more than one revolution while the` -bar lofclay is moving the length of -a brick;

but' as the ily-wheel is 'connected to the bar of clay byV means of thehollow shaft Z, pin! ion S, wheel T, shaft U, band-wheel V, and

f endless apron a, (which is long` enough to pre` vent the bar of clayfrom slipping upon it,)

` the' ily-wheel is thus prevented by the clay from making more 4thanone revolution, thereby keeping the ily-wheel, with its knife, underthe'control of the cla-y, the friction-spring s' .onthe friction-wheelo' being so regulated as to communicate sufficient power to the wheel todo' the cutting on", but not so much as to overcome the resisting' powerof the bar of clay. Thus the knife It always cuts the -bar into lengths'exactly equal to eachother without reference to the speed of themachine. The clay barvis supported at the line of section by arectangular guide, L', Figs. 6 and 7, which .the bar passes through adistance equal to the length of one brick previous to severance.Guide-bars G G' project up from L' to receive and guide the knife k inits passage to and 'through the bar of clay. The guide L' is attached toarm l) which is hinged at e to the .lower framing I' of the machine, asshown in Figs. Gand 7. lt is allowed a short vibration, controlled by aspring,f, Fig. 6. It can thus movea short distance with-the bar of clayH' While this is being severed by the knife k, and then is retracted toits standing-point by the spring f until the knife againente-rs thecla-yat another revolution of fly-wheel Y. To relieve the knife fromanypressure the moving bar'ot' clay would exert against it While passingthrough, there is secured to the side ot the frame an adjustableinclinedplane, G2, (see Figs. 1,2, 6,an d 7, and 10,) against which theknife-frame slides, thereby receiving on its descent a lateral motion,the inclination being just equal to the distance the clay moves duringthe passage of the knife through it.

This lateral motion is communicated to the i knife-guide or clay-supportL', Figs. 6 and 7,

by means of the clamps, between whichl the knife is secured passingbetween two horns or projections, G' Gr', Figs..l, 6, and 7. Thus asimultaneous lateral motion of the knife with its guide andcla-y-snpporter'and the bar of clay is obtained. The knife 7c` is a thinpiece of tempered steel, Fig. 8, secured to the swinging cam 7L by boltsand clamp. This cam h is held in position by the spring s with justsniicient force to prevent the knife from .turning with the resistanceof the clay during its passage through if, but not with sufficient forceto break the knife or stop the `ily-wheel in case any foreign substanceinterfered with its passage, but will allow the knife to .turn back, asshown in the dotted line in Fig. 8, to clear the obstruction, when it isbrought to its original position by the eccentricity of the cam, whichis so shaped that the spring will overcome the greatest resistance atthe commeneement -of the backward moti'on. `The arm K, in the end ofwhich the knife-cam h turns, is secured to the fly-wheel Y in suchmanner asto admit ofa slight lateral uio'tion either bythe spring of thearm, as represented,

or itmay work on centers and be held in po-Y sition by a separatespring. The end of the bar of clay protruding through the knife-guideand clay-supporter is supported by a stationary platform, H3, the lengthof the protrud- -ing portion to prevent the off-bearing apron fromparting the brick from the bar before it is severed entirely by theknife. The shaft H at its outer'end carries lpulley A', connected by aband, B', to pulley C' on short shaft D'. On this shaft is bevel-pinionE', gearing with bevel-wheel F', which ,has onits other end pulley V',which, with pulleys 'V' and W2, (see Fig. 1,) carries the off-bearingapron a', which is supported, like apron a, ou small rollers 1^, tbc.,throughout its length. This ,apron is tightened when desired by pulleyX',

applied to it by means of lever l' in a precisely similar manner to thatin which apron a has been, already described as being tightened. Thedrivin g-pulley V' of this apron is so geared that the apron isrunconsid'erably faster than vapron a, the eect ot' which is to separatethe pered by the operation of the blades c, which gradually force ittoward. the conical end of the'chamber until it is brcught under theacyi-ion of the spiral and conical flange or screw L, which presses itthrough the crmipressingdie into a nd.through the forming-die, whencelvf l`hebar is received upon the endless aron a. which, by its weight-audvadhesiomit thus governingthe 'rotation of the pulley Vf and Awheel-T,shaft X, and flywheel Y, with its at-' 'cachedA knife k. and these areso geared that] the wheel Y will make one revolution while the bar movesthe exact length of a brick. '.When the bar H reaches and enters theguide L,'the knife k descends through the guides 'G' G', and entersand..scvers the bar.4 The lever' K, which carries the knife-cam, comingin contact withvthe inclined plane G2, receives a lateral motion inst'equal to the motion of the clay which it comnnmicates to the guidcsGG",and-thus to the knife guide and clay-supporter,'while the knife ispassing through the clay, so thatthe relative positions of the knife andclay are not altered d'urng'the cutting or .severing process,-an dvtheends of `the bricks vare perfectly at right angles with-the sides.The guidev L and knife vare immediately drawn back to their originalvpositions by the spring f and the spring of the arm 7s as soon as theknife has passed throught-he bar. Tho severed brick is l'received on thestationary plate H3, from which it is pushed by the advancing bar ofclay-until the friction of the otlbearn g apron 'is sucient to draw itnii", when it is received onto olf-'bearing apron al', which,beinggeared to'move faster than aproh a, and being driven independentlyof the bar of clay by connectio); with shaft F, separates the bricks )bya considerable interval .and {nciht-'tes their removal by theoifbea-rers. lI clam- 1.'Arranging in thesaine horizontal line with eachother the tempcring'chamber, impellingscremiand forming die, so .as tosecure direct-ness of action vanil simplicity 'ofge'ar-- inra described.2. Imparting to the 4tempering-chamber and screw-case the tapering formdescribed and shown, so as to gradually compress .the clay and excludethe air in its passage to the forming-die, as specified.

3. So constructing a screw that the clay may enter it at an annularspace and be delivered in a solid mass opposite its end and at thecenter of the screw, substantially in the manner and for therpurposedescribed.

4. Preventing the clay from revolving with the screwin the screw-case byroughening or cheekering the interior surface of that case,substantially as described.

5. The combination of a knife with a ilywheel for the purpose ofsevering a bar of clay into proper lengths for bricks, the velocity ofsaid fly-wheel being regulated or controlled by that of the bar of clay.

6. The combination of the apron a with the 4fly-wheel Y and knife lc,all. arranged for conjoint operation, substantially in the manner andfor the purpose specified.

7. Propelling the cut-off device by means of a friction-clutch, andregulating the power of said clutch by means of a'yieldingpressnre.

8. The yielding severing-knife k, constructed and operatingsubstantially as set forth.

9. Supporting the clay at the line of severance by a movable frame orsupporting stirrup-guide, L', through which the knife lc is guided, asand for the purpose stated.

,10. Moving the knife and the supportingguide L together during theseverance of the bar at the same speed withwhich the bar of clayadvances, for the purposeof cutting oi'. the brick at right angles tothe course of the bar, as directed. 11. Driving the off-bearing apron aat reater speed than that-of the bar of clay, for the purpose ofseparating the bricks by a sufficient interval, as described.

l2. Giving-to the. conical impelling-screw a gradual' increasing depthor thread, to secure uniformity between the amount of clay receivedbythe b ase of the screw andvthat delivered at its point, as set forth.

The above specification ot' my said invention signed and witnessed, atPhiladelphia, this 18th day of December, A. D. 1862.

oInUs CHAMBERS, JR'.

Witnesses:

I sA'Ao L. Lavis, WILLIAM BLACKBURN.

